Caring for the land means caring for life in all its forms
In recent years, the Tuscia area has seen a growing trend toward intensive livestock farming, a shift that has become a hot topic locally, raising concerns about its potential impact on biodiversity, ecosystems, and rural traditions. This is part of a broader transformation of agricultural and food systems playing out both nationally and internationally, one that the local community is working to counter by promoting more sustainable alternatives: organic farming, circular economies, rural tourism, and greater protection for animals and the environment.
This project builds on Navdanya International’s ongoing work, grounded in partnerships and alliances among local associations, organic farms, public bodies, schools, and citizens, all working toward healthy, fair, and ecological food systems and toward protecting the land, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
Aimed at younger generations, the project fosters a shared sense of responsibility toward nature, spreading the agroecological approach along with education in empathy and respect for animals, while supporting the shift toward lifestyles that live in harmony with the land.
It engaged students from the Liceo Artistico at IIS Luca Paciolo in Anguillara Sabazia in a journey of ecological education, active citizenship, and artistic research, aimed at reconnecting young people with their environment, strengthening community ties, and valuing collective knowledge. Through classroom sessions and hands-on workshops in the local area, drawing inspiration from contemporary art and ecology, participants met with farmers and agricultural businesses, wildlife protection workers, educators, institutions, and community members. The experience wove together biodiversity, food, animal welfare, landscape, and community, guiding students as they created works that visually captured the questions, insights, and connections that emerged along the way.
This project continues and builds on the educational path launched in 2023 with Biodiversity is Life, later expanded through initiatives like Agroecology is Life, all part of the Terrae Vivae program. These efforts have strengthened ties among young people, schools, farmers, and other local stakeholders, building a foundation of shared experiences and practical tools on which this new phase now builds.
Planned activities
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A participatory learning path with classroom sessions, workshops, and on-site visits focused on biodiversity, food systems, animal welfare, and ecological citizenship.
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Hands-on experiences with local farms and organisations working in wildlife protection, regenerative farming and livestock practices, and food processing, offering insight into sustainable supply chains and production methods.
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In-depth workshops exploring the connections between ecosystem health, animal care, food, landscape, and community.
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An artistic research path inspired by ecology and contemporary art, turning these experiences into visual works to share with the local community.
Caring for the Earth is Caring for Life:
a path toward ecological awareness
From the very first workshop, this project was designed as a participatory space, one where the direction of the work would be shaped together, starting from the interests and lived experiences of the students. Their discussions raised very concrete questions: where does our food come from, how do animals live on farms, how well do we really know the land we live in, and what effect do our choices have on the environment. What stood out most was the level of engagement: students spoke up spontaneously, argued their points with confidence, and connected emotionally with topics like eco-anxiety, biodiversity, and personal responsibility. It’s a path that starts from young people’s own questions and builds, together, new awareness and a stronger sense of responsibility for the future.
Caring for Wildlife:
a workshop at the Lake Vico Recovery Center
The students had already shown a deep empathy for animals during earlier discussions, and this led them to focus on the wildlife found close to home: how these animals live, the risks they face from human activity, and what can realistically be done to protect them. Their workshop at the CRAS (the Wildlife Recovery Center of the Lake Vico Reserve) offered a firsthand look at the center’s work, from taking in injured animals to nursing them back to health and, whenever possible, releasing them back into the wild. Staff members shared stories from their work, and during a hands-on session the students came face-to-face with several species, particularly birds of prey such as barn owls, learning what most often brings animals to the center and how closely ecosystem fragility is tied to human activity. By the end, feedback revealed genuine surprise and curiosity, along with a real desire to help protect the wildlife around them.
Making mindful food choices:
a workshop at the supermarket
What does it really mean to shop with awareness? Starting from that very practical question, the students explored food as a complex system where land, production, environment, and health are all closely connected. Using an evaluation worksheet, they examined real products from their own everyday diets, learning to read labels, spot industrial processes, and weigh up where food comes from and its nutritional value. The exercise sparked genuine curiosity and active participation, with some students even reaching out directly to producers to learn more. It was a project that showed how each everyday food choice can become an act of responsibility toward the environment and other living beings.
From animal welfare to food production:
classroom deep dives
After the initial workshops, the discussion moved into the classroom, where students dug further into animal welfare, food production, and food processing. Splitting into groups, they each took on a specific piece of the puzzle: what conditions animals actually live in on farms, how meat, milk, and egg supply chains work, and what really separates fresh food from processed food. Debates, guided research, and hands-on analysis let them get into the health, environmental, and ethical costs of these production systems, and left them asking a bigger question: could the food choices we make every day actually help cut down on animal exploitation and ecosystem destruction?
Regenerative farming and caring for the landscape:
a workshop at La Argentina farm
One of the key stops on this journey was a workshop at La Argentina, a farm built around regenerative agriculture and livestock practices. There, students got to see different farming systems side by side, comparing intensive models with approaches centered on animal welfare, product quality, and soil regeneration. They took part in collecting eggs and talked with the farmers about the ethical, environmental, and economic weight behind their production choices. The workshop tied what they’d studied in class to real examples of a shift toward fairer, more resilient food systems, ones where caring for the Earth and everyday work go hand in hand.
From milk to cheese:
food processing and production choices
The workshop, held at the farm dairy on the Fratelli Gentili farm, opened a window onto food processing, tracing sheep’s milk cheese all the way from the barn to the finished product. Students watched the artisanal process firsthand, learning to spot signs of animal welfare and the choices that shape milk quality. This experience sparked a wider conversation comparing artisanal and industrial production: differences in nutrients, environmental impact, animal living conditions, and ties to the land. The debate made clear that every way of processing food carries its own vision of the Earth, of health, and of social justice.
Ecological art: giving shape to
the relationships between food, animals, and the land
After the workshops and classroom sessions, the project turned toward building a collective work of art, guided by a visual arts and ecology teacher. Students turned their experiences and newfound knowledge into visual pieces: diagrams mapping everyday eating habits, depictions of ecosystems, critical collages dissecting supermarket messaging, and illustrations giving a voice to animals who usually go unseen. The workshops drew on a range of artistic references to explore new ways of telling the story of how food, soil, landscape, and community relate to one another. Art became a shared space where caring for the Earth takes shape as images that can speak even to people who never took part in the project firsthand.
Caring for the Earth is caring for Life:
an exhibition to share the project with the community
The project wrapped up with a public exhibition at the Officine Municipali civic space, part of the Youth & Territory: Pathways in Agroecology and Citizenship event. The pieces created in the art workshops (diagrams of everyday eating habits, landscapes telling the story of biodiversity, critical collages on food systems, illustrations dedicated to animal welfare) gave visual form to the questions, discoveries, and reflections that had emerged along the way. Students presented their work in person to residents, institutions, and other schools, turning the exhibition into a moment of dialogue and shared responsibility for the future of food systems and the land. In that space of encounter, Caring for the Earth is caring for Life moved beyond the classroom to become a collective story: an invitation to recognize the Earth as a rights-holder, and to practice a form of active citizenship capable of regenerating the relationships between soil, food, community, and democracy.